1. I loved the 1960s adventure series “Lost in Space” so much so that I think I wanted to “be” Will Robinson (played by Billy Mumy) whose best friend was a robot; and I think I cried myself to sleep when I read in the newspaper the show might be cancelled.
2. As a adult I still like the B&W first season - the art design looks great and there are many excellent episode that are stilleffective today (especially the first 6 or 7 episodes that could run as one continuous story.
3. I ignore the 2nd and 3rd seasons that tried to compete with Adam West’s “Batman” to see which show could be the most campy - I think with the prancing Dr. Smith, LIS will always win.
4. I saw the 1998 movie starring Matt Leblanc and William Hurt; Leblanc was fine but Hurt thought he was in a tragedy written by Shakespeare; both Jack Johnson and Jared Harris we’re horribly miscast as Will.
5. If you listen to the commentary on the DVD, at some point the producers start apologizing for the half finished effects and lamenting what might have been.
6. I’ve seen portions of the incomplete 2004 WB pilot - no Smith, no Penny is a baby and they added another brother; production values were good but it was missing the spirit of the original.
7. Netflix released a new 10 episode series in 2018 that largely follows the format of the original show with some changes: the Robinsons are part of a larger colonist group travel to Aloha Centauri; Dr Smith (played by Bill Mumy) has his identity stolen by the possibly psychotic June Harris (played by Parker Posey); and the robot is from an alien race with less than friendly intentions;
8. The first season involved numerous perilous events in each episode, emulating the original’s weekly cliffhangers; by the end I grew a little weary of them AND Smith’s shenanigans; and I wasn’t a fan of Maxwell Jenkins as Will who played him as a scaredy-cat.
9. Season 2 was released at Christmas and improved on the first season: Will was much improved; Smith’s behavior was better established,
10. as was the families treatment of her; and the plot diverted quite a bit from the original in new ways.
11. Best of all, the series design and special effects are movie quality so the show is a delight to watch for space enthusiasts.
